Audit Reveals Systemic $2.1 Billion Financial Mismanagement
Maine’s State Auditor just released a whopper of a report on the state’s noncompliance with basic oversight practices on state contracts. From The Maine Wire:
In a scathing audit of Maine’s 2024 spending, Maine’s Office of the State Auditor has revealed systemic financial mismanagement, cronyism-friendly contracting practices, and multiple material weaknesses across state agencies—leaving taxpayers exposed to legal risks, unnecessary costs, and outright corruption.
The audit, published Friday, reveals a shocking lack of practical and ethical guardrails for government spending after the Democrat-controlled legislature just passed an $11.3 billion budget and is prepared to spend another $300M-$600M — all funded by new taxes on tobacco, streaming entertainment, ambulances, and more.
At the center of the audit’s most troubling findings is the state’s rampant abuse of the non-competitive bidding process. Maine’s centralized procurement agency, the Office of State Procurement Services (OSPS), was found to have routinely approved contracts without conducting required cost analyses, bypassing rules meant to safeguard public dollars. This raises serious red flags about favoritism, nepotism, and possible corruption within the process for handing out state and federal cash.
The competitive bidding process, which ensures that potentially large government contracts are awarded according to an open and transparent process, has been regularly circumvented in violation of state and federal law, according to State Auditor Matt Dunlap.
The result?
More than $2.1 billion in FY2024 contract payments were made under a system the audit describes as lacking basic supervisory oversight and controls.